Improvement in gas purifiers and regulators



L. E. FISH.-

GAS PURIFIER AND REGULATOR.

Patented March 28,1876,

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N.PETERS, PHOTO-UTHOGRAPHER. WASHXNGTON. D C.

Uivrrnn TES ENT IMPROVEMENT IN GAS PURIFIERS AND REGULATORS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 175,445, dated March 28, 1876; application filed January 18, 1876.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEANDER E. FIsH, of Washington city, District of Columbia, have invented a new and Improved Gas-Regulator; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification, in which the figure is a vertical section.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved gas regulator for regulating and rendering uniform the flow of gas in houses, which shall also purify the gas, thereby increasing its illuminating power, and preventing the accumulation of the condensed products of distillation'in the body of the regulator, which would have a tendency to obstruct its operation.

The invention consists in the particular construction of the regulator, in the construction and arrangement of the purifying-pans, and also in the construction of the water-sealing trough, as hereinafter more fully described.

In the drawing, A represents the base of the regulator, which constitutes the purifyingchamber; and B is the regulator proper, connected with the purifyingchamber by the pipe 0. D is the inlet-pipe for the. gas connected with the supply-pipe from the meter and leading into the purifying-chamber, and D is the outlet-pipe from the regulator, connected with the pipes leading directly to the burners. The purifying apparatus consists of a tank, E, in which are arranged the purifying pans F placed one above the other. Said pans have perforated bottoms, through which the gas escapes in its upward passage to the regulator, and are filled with purifying material. They are also made with inwardly-inclined sides a,

the tops of which form a support for the next pan above, thereby doing away with seats in the sides of the tank. These inclined sides of the pans, setting off from the side of the containing vessel, also afford a means for grasping the pans when they are to be removed, thereby doing away with the use of handles. G is the cover to the tank, which constitutes the base of the regulator, and is attached to the connecting-pipe O. Said cover extends over the sides of the tank E, and its lower edges are water-sealed in a water-trough, H,

surrounding the tank, and constructed with a tapering side, I), which is fastened below to the tank at 0 by means ofrivets, so that the water-trough, which is of considerable width at the top, tapers to nothing at the bottom.

The object of this arrangement of watersealing trough is to render its construction easy, a single piece of metal only being needed to form the side I), and this being readily fastened to the tank by rivets at the bottom. This construction, it will be seen, enables me to use only half the amount ofwater that a trough of perpendicular sides would require, and yet I preserve the same upper surface of water for atmospheric pressure, and also avoid overflow, resulting from the-varying pressure of the gas in the purifier. This overflow is avoided by reason of the slight variation of the water-level upon the outside portion of the water-trough, for the space and volume upon the outside of the sides of the cover being much greater than on the inside, the sometimes excessive variation of level upon the inside of the cover produces but little change of level upon the larger volume. upon the outside.

The regulator consists of a valve, I, in the bottom of pipe 0, connected through a stem, 61, running up said pipe, with a gas-containing cover, J, whose lower edges are sealed in the water of an outer vessel, K. The cover J is attached to the stem at by means of the two washers a e and the two nuts ff, and the upper end of said stem passes through a guidehole in a detachable cover, L. The pipe 0 terminates inside the cover J in a funnelshaped month, which funnel shape extremity forms the inner wall of the annular seal, and is designed to produce the same general result as the tapering watertrough before mentioned-that is to say, it reduces the surface of water presented to the gas-pressure, and prevents so great a variation of the waterlevel upon the outside of the cover, and the consequent overflow at times.

The operation of this combined regulator and purifier is as follows: The gas from the meter and the street-mains enters the device, at D, loaded with more or less impurities, and with a pressure varying according to the different heights of the different localities. It then passes up through the perforations in the pans, and through the purifying material contained therein, so that by the time it reaches the top of the chamber all of the impurities are eliminated. The quality of the gas, is by this initial purification, before it reaches the regulator, not only improved as to its illuminating power, but the heavy impurities are left behind before the gas reaches the regulator, so that the latter is not obstructed and impaired in its operation by the accumulation of the condensed products, which must otherwise necessarily take place. The gas passes then up into the pipe 0, around the valve, and out at D. Now, the regulator being weighted or gaged to a given pressure, it the pressure of gas be such as to make the burners blow, or greater than is requisite to produce a good illuminating flame, this increased pressure raises the cover J, and with it the stem (1 and valve I, closing the pipe 0, and stopping the passage of the gas until the gas passes out of the tube 0 and cover J. As soon as this takes place the cover J descends and opens the Valve again. By means of this arrangement the regulation of the pressure is made automatic, and the gas is fed uniformly to the burners by making the flowalways in inverse ratio to the pressure.

Having thus described my invention, wha I claim as new is- 1. The combination, with a gas-tank and its cover, of a tapering water-trough, made of a single piece of metal,- b, attached to the tank at the .bottom and inclining outwardly, for the purpose described.

2. The combination, with the tank E and cover G, of the purifying-pans, having in wardly-inclined sides a and perforated bottoms, located with the bottom of one resting upon the inclined sides of the one next j below, as described.

3. The combination of the water-vessel K, the cover J, stem d, and valve 1, with the pipe (3 terminating in a funnel inside the watervessel, which funnelt'orms the inner wall of the annular seal, as and for the purpose described.

LEANDER E. FISH.

Witnesses OHAs. A. PETTIT, SoLoN O. KEMON. 

